The 2018 offseason has featured a host of rumors surrounding New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski. There was talk he might retire, then he wanted a raise, and that in turn led to trade rumors. The San Francisco 49ers were first mentioned as a team that made sense, and then they were more formally connected as a potential destination that never happened.
It seems like Gronk is not going anywhere at this point, but there are still reports to unpack. Most recently, SI writer Albert Breer told Colin Cowherd that the Patriots shopped Gronk, but only to teams they trust. It is not surprising that list included the 49ers (NESN broke down the other connections).
“I don’t think they were shopping Gronk to the entire league, but there were some teams they trust that I know they talked to. Detroit, Tennessee, Houston, San Francisco — you guys can make the connections there.”
Given how things went down last fall with Jimmy Garoppolo, and then during the draft with Trent Brown, it’s obvious the 49ers and Patriots are comfortable doing business. I don’t think we’ll see them wheeling and dealing regularly, but if a deal is to be done, John Lynch, Kyle Shanahan, and Bill Belichick are all comfortable making it happen.